Hamilton-Hudson
Chamber Music Festival
The Festival
Hamilton-Hudson Chamber Music Festival is a brand-new, week-long classical chamber music intensive located in a traditional salon-style setting: a home directly on the Hudson River, next to Alexander Hamilton Park, with a direct view of the city skyline.
Designed specifically for adult amateur musicians, Hamilton-Hudson Chamber Music Festival welcomes beginner, immediate, or advanced players of the following instruments: Violin, Viola, Cello, Piano, Flute, Oboe, and Clarinet.
The Location
The festival will take place in a gorgeous modern-style home in Weehawken, NJ overlooking the Hudson for the week of July 13. Just a 15-minute bus ride from Port Authority, this location provides a homey, relaxed, upscale environment for the focused and inspiring creation of music.
The festival consists of a week-long series of ensemble coachings, rehearsals, private lessons, and classes (including music theory, aural skills, history, and masterclasses) at this private residence.
Jump to Section
Schedule • Ensembles and Solo Opportunities • About the Faculty • Application Instructions • Tuition • Acceptance Policy • Application • FAQ
Schedule
Each festival day will be split into separate morning and evening sessions.
Snacks and light refreshments will be provided at every session.
Combined Events
Sunday, July 13, 4:00PM - 7:30PM
Wine & Cheese Mixer with Faculty Recital
Friday, July 18, 2:00PM - 5:00PM
Sight Reading Party
Saturday, July 19 @ 1:00PM
Festival Participant Concert
(Manhattan Location)
Morning Sessions (July 14 - 18)
9:00AM - 10:00AM
Coaching, Class, or Rehearsal
10:15AM - 11:15AM
Coaching, Class, or Rehearsal
11:15AM - 12:15PM
LUNCH BREAK
12:15PM - 1:15PM
Coaching, Class, or Rehearsal
2:00PM - 5:00PM
Time for Optional Private Lessons
Evening Sessions (July 14 - 18)
2:00PM - 5:00PM
Time for Optional Private Lessons
5:30PM - 6:30PM
Coaching, Class, or Rehearsal
6:30PM - 7:15PM
DINNER BREAK
7:15PM - 8:15PM
Coaching, Class, or Rehearsal
8:30PM - 9:30PM
Coaching, Class, or Rehearsal
Ensembles and Optional Solo Opportunities
All festival participants will be placed in one chamber ensemble consisting of various combinations of strings, piano, flute, oboe, and clarinet.
Each participant will have the option to add on a private lesson or masterclass during the week for an additional fee.
About the Faculty
Benjamin T. Nylander is a composer and pianist living in Brooklyn, New York. His work, inspired by themes of existentialism, memory, and spirituality, often embraces a reverence of nature; it is an encapsulation of wonder at the universe.
Benjamin T. Nylander holds a Master’s in Music Composition from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio and a Bachelor’s in Piano Performance from Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. He has studied composition with Marilyn Shrude, Christopher Dietz, Mikel Kuehn, and Patrick Long as well as piano with Solungga Liu and Naomi Niskala. Nylander has performed at Niigata University in Japan, and as the winner of the 2018 Susquehanna University Concerto Competition, performed Saint-Saëns’ ‘Piano Concerto no. 2 in G minor’ (Movement 1) with the SU orchestra in 2019.
Recently, Nylander has spent time in residencies at the Virginia Creative Center for the Arts in Mt. San Angelo, Virginia and at Snow Pond Music Festival in Sidney, Maine, where he conducted the premiere of his large saxophone ensemble piece, Once More to the Ocean. Alchemy, a new album performed in collaboration with saxophonist Joshua Heaney (Duo Aurous), was released in 2022. In 2023, Nylander joined the traveling chamber music group Mini Masterworks as pianist, conductor, and arranger.
While not performing, Nylander can be found working as repetiteur in the opera studios of Ron Raines, Dona Vaughn, Elizabeth Stevens, and Alison Bolshoi. He teaches a large private studio of his own piano, composition, and theory students throughout the greater New York City area and beyond.
Samuel Gray is a New York-based violinist, violist, administrator, producer, and music contractor. He is currently the Concertmaster and Executive Director of PROTESTRA, an orchestra that advocates for social justice through classical music. Sam is also the Principal Second of Parlando Chamber Orchestra as well as a performing member of the Bronx Arts Ensemble and Rendez-Vous Orchestra.
In his performance career, Sam has shared the stage with many great artists of our time, including Cyndi Lauper, Titus Burgess, Daniel Pemberton, Billy Eichner, Bryan Carter, and Kate Baldwin. Described as “immensely talented” by Broadway World, his work in musical theater has brought him to Radio City, Broadhurst Theatre on Broadway, Bucks County Playhouse, and The Gateway. In Fall 2024, he sat Concertmaster of the “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Live in Concert” National Tour produced by Sony in association with Marvel.
A fervent believer that music is healing to the soul, Sam produces intimate chamber music performances in unconventional places around New York. He is the co-producer and co-founder of Mini Masterworks, an annual series of living room concerts in collaboration with cellist Anthime Miller and pianist Ben Nylander.
Sam began his musical studies at the age of nine. His formative teachers include Patricia Cosand, Steven Moeckel, Sarah Plum, and Gary Kosloski. He performs on a 2014 Samuel Zygmuntowicz violin generously on loan from Jay and Michiko Jones.
Application Instructions
We request at least one recent playing sample on your preferred instrument(s). This may be a video or audio recording*, and may be a live or private performance. This is not an audition. We welcome multiple playing samples. The idea is to get to know you and your musicianship!
The application below includes a few brief questions about your musical background and relevant personal information.
The application deadline is April 1. There is no application fee.
*Please upload a link to an outside source. E.g. YouTube, Google Drive, Dropbox etc. Check to make sure your link works before submission!
Tuition
Ensemble Participant: $800
Private Lesson: $100
Masterclass Soloist: $300
Acceptance Policy
All musicians from beginner to advanced levels will be considered. Decisions will primarily be made based on an equal balance of ensembles—which means that early applicants are given preference.
We will accept as many participants as our capacity allows. Spots are limited. An overflow of applicants will be placed on a waitlist.
After acceptance notices are delivered, you will have one week to confirm your participation. If this one-week deadline is not met, your offer will expire and be passed to another applicant. The application deadline is April 1.
A deposit of one-half the base tuition ($400) is due on April 16. This deposit is strictly non-refundable and acts as the participant’s pledge to commitment, as ensembles will be impacted if participants drop out.
Ensembles and repertoire will be assigned and sent out by May 14th. The remaining one-half of tuition ($400 + applicable add-ons) will be due on this date.
Application
FAQ
I’m a beginner. Can I still apply?
Yes! Ensembles will be created based on respective levels of experience. Music will be assigned according to each ensemble’s skill level.
Will I have my repertoire in advance?
All participants will have at least two months to prepare their music. Attendees should come to the festival with enough familiarity with their own part to be able to play comfortably in a group.
I am not local to New York City or North Jersey. Am I still able to participate in the festival?
We are currently only accepting applicants that are local to the New York tri-state area.
Is parking available at the festival?
Street parking is available in the area surrounding the private residence. If traveling from New York, bus transport from Port Authority is encouraged.